Your Minor Gripes

I thought it was weird when Poe and Finn met each other in the Resistance base they hugged the hell out of each other. They got best friends so fast? But ye just some minor flaws that we obviously pin out after 3 years of waiting but nothing that took me out of it. Was smiling, shivering and getting goosebumps all movie and now I must see it a 3rd time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I had no problems eith the 14/12 parsecs joke, but yes there were a lot of callbacks, and no problems with C3PO and Snoke(the fact that he is CGI could be also for the role he'll have in future movies, maybe having him practical would be difficult and to have consistance in the look they choose to go with CGI from the beginning) either.

I agree with you with the rest, and I would add that at first I was at first a little disappointed with the starkillerbase(a new Death Star D: ), but in the end the most important thing was what happened with Finn-Rey-Han-Kylo, while the battle was more of a background and a plot element that just added tension, so in the end I was fine with it.
If they had all the attention on the Starkiller that would have been really bad, at least for me, I'm glad they didn't go this way in this movie

 

I really loved the movie after watching it in 3D at midnight, and then after seeing it second time in 2D more so. I think a lot of things that seem like inconsistencies at first will be completed in the future episodes, so I have no problem with the story..
For some of your issues:
1. I am so glad there were at least some wipes! I didn't expect them.. One of the reasons may be that they look really weird in 3D
2. Same problem here.. The Republic - Resistance relationship was really confusing. From the Hux's speech and other info i gathered that there was some kind of ceasefire declared between Republic and FO, but the Republic secretly supported the Resistance to actively fight.. but majority of people won't get it and we didn't get to know the Republic or it's planets, so the destruction couldn't have much emotional impact..
6. I think Kylo killed Zuvio (or someone with similar helmet) in Rey's vision with Knights of Ben
7. I hated Snoke's design at first, but was able to appreciate it more in 2D the second time.

My only bigger problem with the movie were the dialogs between Han and Leia. For me, it just didn't feel very natural, like they were saying those lines only to explain the past 30 years of their relationship to the viewer.

 

Things I loved:

* The eerie darkness of Kylo Ren

* Light saber battles (brutal!)

* The opening crawl was mind blowing

Things I hated:

* Snoke, Maz, & Unkar's CGI... really disappointed by the quality of CGI on these characters.

* Space fighters & ships didn't look real

* Too many reference jokes

* Not that it's exactly a complaint... but I was really bummed when finding out Han & Leia split up

 

Agreed. The best Star Wars movie since ESB, imo.

The pacing
15 seconds...CUT TO NEXT SCENE...15 seconds...CUT TO NEXT SCENE... It was jarring and uncomfortable to me. This is tied to the lack of wipes too, I think.
The OT wasn't like that. Shots lingered for a long time. Characters took their time to move across the frame. I feel like JJ may have been under pressure from Disney, but an extra 15 minutes would've helped immensely.

IMHO, the only scenes in the whole movie that finally gave the audience a chance to take in this world was when Rey was standing at the lake. The camera FINALLY lingered for just a few seconds longer, and it was very much appreciated.
Also, the scene where she walks into Maz's basement and has the vision. That was very nicely done (but the visions see saw were again cut too fast).

Captain Phasma ends up in a trash compactor
(I hope she's alive!!!) Yes, I did think this was witty, and I didn't mind the nods to ANH at all.
....but Phasma didn't get to do anything!!

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 18, 2015, Original Post Date: Dec 18, 2015 ---

Agreed. These were huge, huge wins for me.
Driver's Kylo Ren is outstanding. Excellent job with this character. Will be very fun to see him evolve over the next two movies.

The lightsaber battles...wow. These were PERFECT for me.
When Finn turns on the lightsaber and uses it for the first time, I had goosebumps.
The final fight at the end....amazing. The best lightsaber battle in a Star Wars movie since Vader vs Luke in ESB (impossible to top that, IMHO). Maybe sacrilege to say it topped Anakin vs Obi-Wan, but it did. Very, very well done. And yes, the opening crawl was as perfect as it gets; no taxation of trade routes!!

 

Complaint 1. It wasn't long enough.

Complaint 2. The actors from The Raid and The Raid 2 were heavily underused.

 

Unkar Plutt was a practical costume, played by Simon Pegg
I think Maz was a supreme CGI, really loved it.
Snoke felt out of place to me too.. but he was a hologram, you know..

 

Yes he was lol

 

Well, that was because Finn helped Por anPoe would be dead if it wasn't for Finn because Finn was trying to do the right thing .

 

Yeah, if someone saved my life like that and then teamed up with the side I'd been committed to my whole life, I'd bro out with him pretty hard, too.

 

After we are introduced to Han for the first time and the tow gangs show up then the Ranthars. It felt like Firefly or something and not Star Wars, but it wasn't long so thank god for that.

I did not understand Maz having Luke's sabre for so long and never tell Han.

The cut aways of some scenes like Finn and Poe in the Tie Fighter. When Poe mention Luke, Finn starts to react and then it gets cut away. I wanted to know Finn's thoughts on Luke since he was bread from birth and fed propaganda. Or maybe he never really believed the stories at all.

Just when you get to liking Lor Kylo cuts him in half. I wanted a little more info


That is just a few and didn't kill my experience. I loved TFA.

 

I love love love this movie. With that said...

1. Phasma was not used at all. Her look wasn't that great either. She looked like a silver strooptrooper nothing special to me. If she is supposed to be the Boba Fett it was poorly done. Also she was disposed of in a way I just didn't buy. She is the ultimate stormtrooper but she lowers the shield instead of dying for her cause. That made her look weak and not like the big bad stromtrooper she should have been.

2. The pacing was to fast. The movie needed to take a breath and they had chances to do that but didn't.

3. My biggest gripe of all. The title. It implies the force was dormant but that is not the case. The force awoke in Rey but was there all the time. The force did not awaken. The movie should have had a different title. The rest of the movie titles describe the movies. I felt this one did not.

This movie it's delightful.

 

I also thought that the film is truly great but in the spirit of the thread here's the things that bugged me,

- I (as may be inferred from my avatar) was really looking forward to Phasma, and I'm bummed that she didn't get more to do (though I'm hoping Episode VIII gives her a larger part).
- I agree that the Republic/Resistance connection was... weird, and I have no connection really to the Hosnian system so it loses a lot of the impact when it's destroyed.
- I was fine with most of the callbacks and homages... having said that, Starkiller was just a bit too similar to another Death Star for my tastes, and (combining with my previous point), it didn't feel quite as momentous upon its destruction.
- And wrapping all the way back around, I feel like Maz was underutilised as well, she wasn't in the movie as much as I anticipated.

All-in-all though, a very enjoyable film with some truly great performances (Adam Driver please call me back).

 

I really think the biggest problem comes for the editing. They have a good story there and good acting and good characters. But the big plot points don't sink in. Editing felt rushed and patched together.

 

After only seeing it once, I have 4 gripes. And honestly, if I didn't have a gripe, I was likely 100% on board with it. I personally don't think they missed a beat with anything that Rey, Finn, Poe or BB-8 did. They were perfect IMHO.

-Too many OT trilogy callback jokes.
-Some of the Han and Leia scenes had too much exposition.
-Snoke looked like bad CGI before they revealed it was a hologram.
-4K theater or some bad cinematography

How many reference jokes were there in total?

I loved some, the 14 parsecs joke was great in large part because it served the purpose of The Legends of the Rebellion. And in ANH, Han Solo considered himself a legend in his own time when he referenced it.

But the trash compactor one was tone deaf, it was a joke purely for the audience because Phasma, Finn, and Rey would have no clue what the hell he is talking about. I'll have to see it again to see if Chewie even reacts.

All the others were somewhere in the middle of those, but there were too many.

Some of the dialogue between Han and Leia felt unnecessary and dull, like the general outline of what they should say, without any polish on the dialogue. I could have done with more essence and less exposition.

-Our first glimpse of Snoke seemed to be late 90's CGI of a preposterous giant. Until it became clear that he was a hologram. It won't matter upon future viewing, but first impression was BAD, and it took me out of the film.

-It may have been the 4K theater, but there were scenes, specifically outside of Maz's castle after the attack that looked cheap. TV movie of the week cheap.

All that said, I loved loved loved loved Finn and Rey in every moment they had. Great characters, great casting, great writing, performance and direction. Poe and BB-8 were amazing as well.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 18, 2015, Original Post Date: Dec 18, 2015 ---

Super minor gripe. While I'm glad they acknowledged the death star as a precursor to Starkiller, we didn't need to see graphic representation of how much bigger it was. The fact that it just destroyed 5 planets at once was proof enough to the audience and everyone in that room.
Besides, size matters not.

 

Max Von Snydow is supposedly going to be in VIII .

 

not going to happen.....

 

Thought I would like the movie more than I did. It wasn't a bad movie, just not as good as I thought it would be.

(1) Felt like Han moved backwards as a character. Went from a scoundrel and smuggler to hero of the rebellion... back to scoundrel and smuggler? A general who was instrumental in the destruction of the Sith / Empire has regressed to having to try and talk his way out of a gang killing him for a smuggling failure? I own and have read every piece of EU literature. I honestly don't think much of the post-ROTJ material and was not bothered that Disney removed it's semi-canon status. But I'll say that in spite of all the flaws of that material, I preferred their take on Han continuing to grow in a forward direction, remaining a pivotal member of the New Republic, and staying in his relationship with Leia.

(2) The opening crawl stated that the FO rose from the ashes of the Empire. That implies they are at a fraction of the strength the Empire achieved at its peak. So how did they have the resources to convert a planet into a sun-draining, system-destroying weapon, when the Empire took decades just to build a space station with giant laser?

(3) I was confused at the first system that was destroyed. I thought during Hux's rant in front of the assembly, he said something about the Republic being far away. Then he fires a weapon that hits a system that is presumably nearby. It wasn't clear at first that the planet is mobile, but I guess it has to be? And what was the significance of the system that was destroyed?

(4) How did Rey know about mind control? She thought Jedi were myth. She has no way of knowing about this skill. Luke was right there when Ben did this trick, and in the new books / comics I believe he is struggling to replicate it. But she just sprouts the ability on the spot.

(5) When Rey returns to the Resistance base, why did she and Leia embrace? I'm trying to remember whether they had even met each other previously. Chewie is the one who just lost the most important person in his life, and he just strolls on past Leia.

(6) Phasma turned out to be eye candy for the theatrical poster. Unless there are bigger plans for the next two episodes.

There are a lot of good points to the movie as well. Overall I enjoyed it and this will be the first movie in my life that I will see more than once in the theater. I liked the humor, I liked the characters, I liked the acting. Curious to see more about Snoke and Kylo. Hopefully the novels and comics will fill in some of the blanks. I just wish they had toned down some of the super weapon and force ability aspects, and polished the plot and character development a bit more.